Step into My Parlor
by etienneofthewestwind
Summary: AU. Ian Edgerton would not be half as bothered by Edgar Heller's murder if he could shake the thought of Dr. Eppes' assistant as the perpetrator…


"**Step into my Parlor…"  
by étienneofthewestwind**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Numb3rs, just my warping of the characters.  
**Summary: **AU written with Numb3rs100 prompts. 3 x 300. Ian Edgerton would not be half as bothered by Edgar Heller's murder if he could shake the thought of Dr. Eppes' assistant as the perpetrator…

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**33. Uncertainty.**

Ian Edgerton never liked uncertainty. Oh, Heller had killed those women, no doubt about that. Not only had they found various security tapes showing him with most victims, he had kept all of the women's belongings in his apartment. And while the team waited for the warrant to search the apartment, they had caught Heller leaving to dump his last victim.

No, the confusion arose when Heller tossed the nude body at them as if it weighed nothing. While Reeves and Granger secured the body, Ian, Lake, and Sinclair followed Heller into the alley beside his building. They saw Heller's head hit the ground several feet from the body. By all logic, they should have seen his killer. But Lake and Sinclair, expressed mystification at how they could have missed him entirely.

Ian wanted to agree.

Yet he could not shake the thought of Dr. Charles Eppes' personal assistant, Charlie Emrick. Ian had an image of a face that could be the young man jumping away from the body. An image that was hazier than an out-of-focus snapshot. With near-eidetic memory for images, Ian could not have witnessed any such scene last night without recalling more details. It had to be his imagination.

Even though Ian's imagination did not work like that.

A quiet day filled with too much paperwork for his liking could never hope to distract Ian from debating the issue in his head. By the end of the day, he had manufactured an excuse to drop by the reclusive math genius' craftsman. Ian had to lay the matter to rest; he could not afford the distraction.

Ian now faced Emrick inside the fortress-like house. Thick drapes at every window muted sound and blocked the evening's sun.

Ian had never thought a Pasadena house could feel so remote.

* * *

**38. Discovery**

As during the embezzlement case, Emrick proved himself as charming as he was attractive. Ian's concerns melted away under the man's mild, friendly humor. The short man clearly posed no threat. Emrick's dark eyes frowned when Ian had casually mentioned the night before, but it was a small concern. Emrick clearly answered truthfully and Ian did not need the names of his friends. And again, he saw no need to bother the social-phobic professor when Emrick could take a message.

Until Ian saw the chalkboards.

Complex math, far above Ian's ability, clearly in progress, and clearly the same penmanship he had seen Emrick use.

Ian entered the room for a closer look. A chill went down his spine as he realized that for an agoraphobe without family, the only proof of Eppes' continued life besides the word of his assistant/caretaker were his continued academic submissions. Could Emrick have killed the professor and taken over his life?

Emrick's face told Ian that he had seen his reaction. Ian feigned a casual question about the blackboards.

Eppes' work.

Ian kept his face neutral, but Emrick looked more concerned.

Ian turned to leave and saw the old family photos on the wall. Most focused around a mother, father, and two sons. As the boys aged, the older was in uniform: first baseball, then army. The younger son tended to academic settings, culminating in the framed 1940 article on Dr. Charles Eppes becoming a CalSci professor at age twenty-one. The photo could have been Emrick's twin.

_"Forget it," _Emrick said and ushered Ian from the room…

_The fanged face over Heller's corpse hissed, _"Forget I was here,"_ and leapt away..._

Suddenly worried, Ian nodded and murmured an excuse to leave. An arm shot out and blocked Ian's path.

"Your heart rate just increased, agent."

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**213. Overpower**

_"Don't move." _ Despite himself, Ian did not resist as Emrick forced him to the floor. Stunned, Ian realized the words held a force he had felt before, woven into a lighthearted facade...

_"Surely _you don't need to bother my friends, _agent. You _believe me, _don't you...?"_

The realization weakened the compulsion, but not enough. The smaller man pushed Ian's sleeve up and bit into Ian's elbow. Unlike human teeth, Emrick's—_Eppes_'—were so sharp, Ian barely felt them pierce his skin. As Eppes drank, a bliss filled Ian. He felt his blood race through him, felt the vampire's power sync to the rhythm of it.

Ian drowned in the experience, unable to convince himself that he wanted to swim.

Eppes pulled up from Ian's arm and interrogated him. Still high from the feeding, Ian answered without hesitation. Until he admitted that he had not shared his suspicions or destination with anyone. The haze faded enough for Ian to realize that as good as he felt, he did not wish to be drained dry.

Eppes laughed. "Blood is thicker than you think." Ian blinked, unaware that he had spoken. "Only fools who feed on too few or enjoy murder kill their prey."

Ian's mind flashed to a recent autopsy, and the suggestion that the knife wounds obliterated a previous neck injury, possibly an animal bite.

"Yes, that's why I killed Heller."

This time, Ian knew he had kept silent_._

_Well, fuck._

"Only if you insist." Eppes grew serious. "I can work around your memory, or I can bind you to me. Before you decide... it might interest you to know that Heller wasn't solely responsible for the murders.

"Tell me, Agent Edgerton," Eppes leaned forward and whispered into Ian's ear. "What would you give to help me hunt the ultimate prey?"


End file.
